The Airbender and the Street Rat
by sectumsempra98
Summary: Jinora is tired of reading, and just wants to do something. She wants something to happen, but she doesn't know what. Bored of waiting, she goes out into the city in search of adventure. Along the way, she meets a boy who calls himself "Skootchy"
1. Boring

Jinora just wanted to want to read. That's it. That's all. She just wanted to be able to sit there and read her little history textbook to learn a little more about the fundamental well-being of an airbender's spiritual self so she could become a little more adept at her element. That was it. But no, she thought wistfully, she didn't like just reading anymore. She wanted to apply herself to real life situations and real life problems and do things herself instead of vicariously through literature.

Jinora was sitting quietly on the edge of a low cliff at the end of Air Temple Island. In between daydreaming new airbender tricks and reading snippets of her book, she looked out over the water to Republic City and sighed. Part of her wanted to just sit there and read like she knew she should, and the other part wished for something to _do_. No, Jinora pushed the longing away. She didn't _need_ to go into the city, and she didn't need adventure. She was safe on the isolated little island, the tiny, little,_boring_ island. Finally, Jinora couldn't take it anymore. She snapped her book shut and left her perch on the cliff. She could read the book another day; it's not like _the book_ was going anywhere.

She walked slowly back to the house to grab her glider, making sure to tell her mother that she was going off to watch Korra train. Her mother was fine with it, but Jinora knew that her father would be worried sick and very cross with her. Whatever, at least Jinora wasn't lying about it; she just wanted something to do.

She took a running start and gathered up the wind behind her with one arm, then opened up her glider and flew off before either of her siblings saw. It was only a few moments before Jinora had reached the opposing shore, but instead of landing like she knew she should have, she decided to swoop up just a little bit higher in order to get a bird's-eye view of the city.

"_The city is so pretty up here." _Jinora mused, "_I wonder if anyone else's seen it like this."_

As she continued to think, it dawned on her that of course people have seen a bird's-eye view of the city before. There were the metal-benders on the police force, the ones flying around in hovercraft. They've seen it before, haven't they? But maybe they were always on missions. Maybe they were all too focused on watching the bad parts of the city to see the whole, overall greatness of it? Thinking that made Jinora feel special. Here she was, just a child, but the first one to fly over Republic City and the only one to know how beautiful it really is, with the gridlike pattern of the streets, the random, reflective panels on the rooftops shining in the sun; it was her secret, her very first _important_ secret, and no one else would know.

Silently, she landed on the rooftop of the gyms where the Fire Ferrets trained. For a moment, she stood on the edge of the building, just looking down at all the tiny people and wondering how all of them go around, not knowing how amazing the city they live in really is, when a rough, dirty hand gripped her shoulder.


	2. First Words

Jinora gasped and instinctively jerked her shoulder away, but now she was in an awkward position, with her feet facing forward and the rest of her body inclined towards whoever was behind her. She reached out for some support before falling heavily onto the ground.

"Oh gosh. Ow." She moaned before looking up resentfully. "Hey, what's your problem?" She snapped, "Don't you know it's rude to go around randomly grabbing other people from behind? Who do you think you are?"

"Sorry." Was the one word reply. Jinora hastily got up and brushed herself off, all the while keeping one eye on the boy standing behind, well, in front of her now. He was a little taller than she was, but she thought that perhaps her bun made her look his size. He probably already had a natural tan, but Jinora supposed that the sun would also be responsible for how dark it was; perhaps a shade or two lighter than the tattered, dirt-crusted clothes he was already wearing. There was dirt under his fingernails, there was dirt smudged on one of his cheeks and across the bridge of his nose, there were tears in the fabric of his clothes and his shoes were not exactly well-off either. In fact, as she mentally summarized his attire, she decided that he, as a whole, was just dirty.

No other adjectives came to mind, not tall, nor lean, nor lanky, or slouchy- in reference to the way he stood- or even in need of a haircut. All were true, of course, but what stood out most about him was the _dirt._ Jinora wrinkled her nose in disgust and subconsciously rubbed the spot where he had touched her. "Sorry? Is that it?" She asked coolly. "Yeah." Was the infuriatingly short reply. Jinora pursed her lips in irritation and went to grab her glider, stopping short when she saw that the fragile wood of the body had snapped under her shoulder's weight. "Sorry about that too, I guess." Said the filthy street-child behind her.

Jinora had never been so angry before. She just wanted something to bide her time with, and here she was, standing on the roof of a gym in the middle of the city with a broken glider and no money to pay the fare back to Air Temple Island. Not to mention the fact that there was a child with no sense of personal space, hygiene, and seemed unable to carry out a full conversation. Instead of responding, she patted her bun to make sure it looked alright and picked up the pieces of her broken glider. Then, she turned on her heel and swept past the boy, air swirling around their ankles; Jinora hadn't yet learned how to fully control her element during fits of strong emotion.

She remembered the first time she got a glider, on her 8th birthday. Her father presented it to her and she had been so excited and happy she accidentally blew a gust of wind behind her, toppling little toddler Meelo over. The look on his face was so shocked; his mouth fell open in a perfect O, and it was the funniest thing ever.

"Hey, what'cha laughing about, bender?" His voice cut through her thoughts. Jinora turned and looked him full in the eye. "Nothing, street-kid." She said, then turned and walked down the steps and into the gym. "Hey, wait!" He called after her, "You'll get yelled at if you go in that way!"

"Oh yeah? Why?"

"Cos it's for employees only."

"You sure about that?"

"Well, fine then. Get in trouble, I don't care."

"Okay." And that was how their conversation ended. Jinora walked down the steps she had gone through several times before, and the boy stood there, watching her.


	3. In the Park

Jinora huffed and tightened her grip on her glider. She had broken her glider before, sure; it was easy to fix, but for some reason the splintered feel of the wood in her hand made her intoxicatingly furious. How dare he? How dare he do something so rude? True, Jinora had fallen on her own glider, but it was his fault for grabbing her shoulder! What in the world could he possibly have wanted so badly that he had to grab her for? Jinora shuddered as she recalled the dirt all over him.

Silently, she stalked down to the gym where the Fire Ferrets trained and propelled a gust of wind out in front of her so she could keep her hold on the glider fragments and not have to bother with the door. Unfortunately, she misjudged her force and the doors slammed open with a loud bang and someone's low groan. Jinora hurried forward, hoping she hadn't really hurt anyone, and closed the doors behind her.

The gym was like it always was, neat-ish, padded, with equipment hanging on the walls and on shelves and the faint reek of sweat in the air. However, there were three helmets and three padded suits missing; two of which she spotted on the floor, donned by Korra and Bolin, who were laughing at Mako lying prone on the floor. Soon, he got up though, and was probably going to swing out at whomever caused him such embarrassment, but stopped short when he saw that it was only Jinora (not that he needed to; Mako was aiming for an area about the height of an adult's face, and Jinora was around a foot shorter than that, so he would have missed by a considerable amount anyway).

"Jinora!" He snapped instead, "What is the _matter_ with you?"

"Sorry, Mako." Was Jinora's only reply; when she was angry, she tended to stay quiet so as to not bring attention to herself.

"Hey, Jin!" Korra called to the young airbender, "What's up? Great timing, by the way, I think Mako was about to give us a lecture on the history of why we suck." This made Jinora smile a bit, and she felt better because of Korra's lighthearted teasing of Mako. (His face was still red, by the way.) Jinora walked over and sat down next to her, allowing Korra to awkwardly wrap one arm around her through the heavy, padded suit.

"What's that?" Bolin asked, pointing at the remnants of Jinora's glider.

"Well, it _was _my ride home." She said as level-headedly as she could.

"What happened? And why are you here, first of all?" Mako voiced as he crossed the room and sat down. Now, the Fire Ferrets and guest were seated in a circle. (Korra next to Bolin next to Mako next to Jinora next to Korra, if you were confused) "_Mako."_ Korra and Bolin groaned in unison. "Leave her alone, bro." Bolin said while Korra countered "She's not even getting in the way, it's fine Mako." Jinora decided that this was when she should speak up, "I don't know. I got bored on the island, I guess."

"Finish your book?" Mako said, almost jokingly.

"No. I got bored of it." Jinora laughed as the others pretended they were taken aback. Bolin even fanned his face with his hand before fake fainting, which was really funny. "Okay," Korra started, "Now that we've learned that reality is collapsing in on itself as a whole," she paused and poked at Jinora's bun, "let's get out of these heavy suits and make Jinora _not bored._"

…

They went to the park, which was kind of a new experience for Jinora, because the last times she had been in the park, she had shut out the modern world, convinced it was loud, obnoxious, and distracted, and immersed herself in learning vicariously through her grandmother's journal about what it had been before.

Jinora paused in front of the fountain, first looking into the water and looking at the coins people dropped in for good luck, and then tracing the detailed pattern of the fountain with her finger. They had left her glider in the gym, parts of it in Korra's locker, some in Bolin's and the rest in Mako's considerably larger Team Captain's locker. Jinora didn't need it now; anyway, she could just take the ferry with Korra.

"Jin. You look so…" Bolin started to say. Jinora looked up at him, waiting for him to finish. "ah, I don't know what you look like…you just look…weird." Bolin finally managed, only to get smacked upside the head by Korra. "Leave her alone, Bo! She's having fun! I think." Bolin mumbled an apology before spotting a group of young kids playing a sort of game kicking around a tattered ball. Immediately, Bolin ran to join, and soon both his and the childrens' laughs could be heard clearly over the clattering of vendors' wheels and meaningless talk. Mako smiled and shook his head, probably thinking that Bolin should be so much more mature by now, but his innocence and happiness was just really great.

Jinora looked at Mako, then at Bolin, then at Korra, who shrugged her shoulders and ran off to play with Bolin. She stopped short a couple of feet, and turned and gestured wildly for both Jinora and Mako to come and join too. Mako and Jinora shared a look, then simultaneously mouthed "no" to Korra, and turned their backs on her. Jinora, however, glanced back and smiled, happy to be doing _something_.

She kept fingering the designs on the rim of the fountain, completely immersed in the symbols. She had seen them before, in a history book, but hadn't really cared to know that they meant. There seemed to be a pattern; three symbols just repeating over and over again. She looked closer, realizing how detailed the characters were, and before she could react, water was splashing over her.


	4. Dinner and a Rally

"Hey!" Both Jinora and Mako exclaimed angrily. Jinora fell back off her heels and wiped her face with one hand while being hurriedly hoisted up by the elbow on the other arm. Mako transferred his grip from her elbow to Jinora's shoulder when she was standing before turning at the offender and yelling, "Wow Skootch! What in the spirits is your problem?" Jinora looked across the water, still rippling around the offending object; a clod of dirt. She saw the same boy who had gripped her shoulder an hour ago, the boy that was the cause of her broken glider, the boy that did nothing but infuriate her with everything he did. But Jinora was calm now; letting Mako use his anger-filled words against the sod-encrusted child. She listened quietly as Mako yelled at the boy- Skootch? Yes, that was his name. Skootch, and Skootch did the same.

Jinora met Skootch's eye and did not glance away, not even to size him up again. Skootch did the same, save that he refused to blink too. Jinora always thought staring games were pointless, as blinking was a natural reflex, and why hinder what your body naturally wanted to do to better itself? But this philosophy did not stop her from spinning a finger on one of the hands clasped behind her back, so as to produce a small eddy of wind that promptly crossed the water and into his eyes. Skootchy had to rub his drying eyes before they began to water and looked like he was crying. Jinora almost smiled at this small accomplishment, but quickly righted herself; making someone's eyes water so that they had to look away first was not a victory- it was childish.

Mako stopped yelling, and turned to lead Jinora away, when Skootch stopped wiping his eyes and called out; "Hey, Mako, hot girlfriend you got there!" (which, when thought about out of context, had such a _demeaning_ form of wording, that when a ratty street-child said it, it was not only childish, it was maddening). Mako stopped and glanced back, shook his head, looked down at Jinora, shook his head again, and kept walking with his arm around her shoulders, steering her. Jinora did not know what possessed her to do this, but when Mako looked away from her and at the group of children surrounding and playing with Korra and Bolin, Jinora turned her head around and said one word, quietly enough for no one else to hear, but firmly enough so that when her winds gusted over the water to deliver the message of her soft voice, that one word would resonate through Skootchy's ears all through the night.

"_Jealous."_

…

Jinora ate dinner quietly, answering all of her father's questions with responses that would answer _only_ the question and nothing more. She apologized sincerely when her father asked about the glider, only mentioning that she had fallen, and not much else. She really did feel bad about the glider; it was not in her mindset that sometimes, a thing breaking is okay, and her father understood and did not scold her for too long. Of course, Ikki threw a fit, complaining that their parents loved Jinora more and didn't mind when _she_ broke her stuff, but when Ikki ruined her things, it was just one scolding after another. Jinora wanted to smile, but knew if she did, it would fuel Ikki on. So she ate quietly, listening to the conversation instead of reading like she normally did, and it was this change that eventually spurred her mother on to ask: "Jinora, you aren't reading a book tonight, I've noticed. Do you need new ones?"

Ikki sighed loudly, "And _now _you're offering to _buy her things_! After she_ broke something_!"

"Ikki, calm down. We buy you things too." Tenzin said coolly, but offered Ikki a smile when she pouted at her food. Pema laughed a little, and began to eat.

"Hey, yeah, though, why aren't you reading a book?" Ikki soon started to talk again, all anger dissolving from her features. "You usually read a book at the table? Sometimes even two? Why aren't you doing that now? Did you finish? Don't you have more? Maybe she lost them! DAD JINORA LOST HER BOOK!"

"_Pema do something." _Tenzin half-pleaded with his wife, who hurriedly assured her child that no, Jinora did not lose her books, and yes, she knew that instinctively, and no, Ikki could not leave the table without finishing her food. Ikki immediately scarfed down her food and left, off to do whatever it was she did. Korra and Meelo finished their food at around the same time after, so Korra went to her room and Meelo ran to his mother and soon fell asleep on her lap.

Jinora had taken her time eating, listening to the steady sounds of her parents' eating and Meelo's breathing. Before she got up from the table, however, she asked her parents one last thing:

"May I go back into the city again with Korra?"

…

Korra had agreed to take Jinora and Ikki around town, as Ikki wanted to come too and by the spirits she did everything to make it happen. Meelo was home, sleeping with Pema, but in an hour or so he would be up and about, looking for trouble. They had to walk around the city and get home fast. Jinora wanted to go to see the City Hall, to see where her father worked. She hadn't seen it but for one time before, but she had had her nose too far in a book to truly remember it. Ikki had wanted to go see the park, though, so they spent some time there first.

Jinora stayed away from the fountain, instead resting on a bench in the shade, acutely aware of the people around her and the noises in the trees above her. One particular conversation caught her ear, or rather, one particular person, yelling things at a group of people.

"Benders are oppressors!" The man called out. There were murmurs of agreement in the crowd.

"They rule us and brainwash our minds! The minds of our children!" He continued, and several heads nodded in agreement.

"They will not stand for dissent, but isn't that our right?" He said, cupping his mouth with his hands. People were cheering now.

Watching this, Jinora began to feel like she was watching something she wasn't supposed to. Like she was learning things she wasn't supposed to know about, and it made her feel bad. But it also made her curious, and this time, Jinora couldn't help herself.

"_Why?"_ She spoke into the wind. _"Why is it bad?"_ and made her words carry over into the man's ears. He froze for a second, Jinora supposed when her heard her question, but soon he answered. "And what makes us feel this way?" He cried out over the heads of the people, "Because look at us! Look at them! Who is the chief of police? A bender!" He yelled.

"Who make up the police force? Benders!"

"Who are the highest ranking gangsters in the city? Who are the gangs made up of? Who are the Council members that constantly let them get away with injustice? Benders, benders, BENDERS!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, and Jinora sat there, feeling ever-so slightly scandalized. _It's time to go._ She thought, and got up slowly and moved over towards the river where Korra and Ikki were playing.

She was mulling over what the man had said at that makeshift rally when someone grabbed her arm and pulled her behind the trees lining the sides of the pathway.


	5. The Conversation

Jinora knew immediately who it was, and it was all she could do to not turn and slug the child in the face. Instead, she turned and faced Skootchy, checking herself, making sure to keep her feelings in line.

"Only the spirits know why you insist on meeting me like this." She said coolly. She watched placidly as he glared at her, mouth twitching into a thin line, before he spoke-or well- snapped:

"What did you mean?"

Skootchy's hand was digging painfully into her shoulder, and Jinora shifted uncomfortably, trying (and failing) to break loose from his grip. "What do you mean, 'what do I mean'?" She said, trying to keep her voice level.

"When you walked away with Mako, before you left, you turned around and said..., well, um…but anyway, what do you mean by that?" He was only about a foot or two away from her. He was taller than her. He was stronger than her- at least physically. Jinora stopped fidgeting, and looked at him, accidentally allowing herself to grin.

"What word, Skootch?" Jinora couldn't help but add a tone of fake sincerity. Skootch began to blush, and instead of answering, looked down suddenly. Jinora suppressed laughter; here came the glorious, long-awaited retribution that she had envisioned for days. "What word? Did I even say anything?" She couldn't help but say, watching the blush rise up from his collarbones and bloom over his cheeks. "I, ah, nevermind." Skootch said, letting her go and backing away. He shoved his hands into his pockets and turned around. "It was nothing anyway." He muttered, beginning to walk away, but Jinora wasn't done yet.

With one hand gathering up air and the other spinning it into wind, soon Jinora had a force strong enough to levitate herself and Skootch. She did not hesitate to use it. "Hey! Spirits, in the name of Aang, what are you doing?" He cried out, not quite suppressing the fear from his voice. Jinora wanted to say something to him, to tell him off for being weird and rude and creepy, but when she opened her mouth, all she could do was laugh. She laughed pretty hard too, doubling over and gasping for air by the time she was done.

"Oh, spirits." She sighed and sat down, looking up at the boy floating in the air. He had thrashed around a little while she was laughing, but soon stopped when he realized it was futile. Her smile froze, however, when she registered the look on his face.

…

"_Okay, this is it…"_ Skootchy thought as she walked down the pathway. _"Just a few more seconds and then you'll get her." _He watched as she glanced repeatedly behind her to the anti-bender rally. _"But why is an upper-class bending daughter anywhere _near_ those rallies?" _ Skootchy couldn't help but wonder. What did she think she was doing? She could have gotten hurt or caught or- wait. What did he care? She was just a girl he'd seen around, nothing special.

But then there was the first time they met…where he had been waiting out a TTT raid on the roof, and he saw her. He didn't know why, but just looking up and seeing her soaring above his head, above everyone's heads, and watching her circle over the city was amazing. Maybe it wasn't that she was pretty, although that certainly had something to do with it, but there was something about how she handled herself and her glider too. Skootchy sat there, looking up into the sky, for the first time in what seemed like ages, and he wasn't wondering about the weather, or avoiding someone's eye contact. No, for the first time in years, Skootchy looked up into the sky to admire it, and admire her.

Skootchy snapped out of his reverie just in time to watch her approach the tree he was lurking behind. In the span of three seconds, he had reached out and grabbed her by the shoulder, then pulled her behind the trees with him. The act of grabbing her shoulder sparked the memory again, and he thought back to the first time he touched her shoulder.

Skootchy hadn't known why he had grasped her shoulder; she had just been standing there. He'd never seen her before, never seen anyone in those types of clothes before, either. She was a little shorter than him, but- spirits- even her back and the way she stood was pretty! He hadn't realized what he was doing, just grabbed her shoulder for no reason. Her clothes were so soft, and they were so _clean_. Skootchy hadn't meant to startle her at all actually, and then when he saw her face close up- he, well he, he got tongue-tied.

"Only the spirits know why you insist on meeting me like this." The girl said calmly. She radiated knowledge; she radiated superiority, and Skootchy, barely literate and a common street-child, felt horribly inferior. He hesitated for a second, then asked her what he had come to ask, quite loudly, but he thought that maybe the way he sounded would mask his feelings.

"What did you mean?"

She squirmed under his grip, but he did not let go.

"What do you mean, 'what do I mean'?"

Her voice sounded like it wavered, but Skootchy thought he might have imagined it; she certainly wasn't giving much away.

"When you walked away with Mako, before you left, you turned around and said..., well, um…but anyway, what do you mean by that?" When she grinned at him, Skootchy wanted partly to defend his hurt pride- for some reason he felt insulted, and partly to grin back at her like an idiot. Before he could decide however, she was speaking again.

"What word, Skootch?" She had changed her tone so she sounded genuinely confused, but of course she was playing him; her unfaltering grin said so. "What word? Did I even say anything?" She said sweetly. Skootch wanted to shake the answers out of her by now, and hold her close to him so that this conversation could never end. What was wrong with him? Why was he acting like a- oh Aang…suddenly Skootchy knew what had happened to him.

Skootchy had a crush.

This was so unfair. He didn't know her. He didn't know where she lived, or who her friends were, or what she liked. Oh wait; he knew what she didn't like: him. Face burning at this realization; he made it his utmost priority to get as far away from her as he could.

"I, ah, nevermind." Skootchy said in what he hoped was a normal tone of voice, and let her shoulder go. As he turned to leave he muttered, "It was nothing, anyway," not knowing exactly who he was assuring. He didn't even know where he would go; he just wanted to leave this encounter behind.

However, as he walked away, he felt something moving around him. The air, it was swirling around him, it was pulling at his clothes, his hat, he grabbed for it as it almost fell. Skootchy turned aroud and stared in horror and wonder at the girl, the one corralling the air around him, picking him up and holding him helpless in the air. Skootchy thrashed in fear, soon giving up to her power and realizing he couldn't do anything.

He watched her at all times, worried for what else she might do, thinking that surely, things couldn't be any worse, when she started to laugh at him. And then he realized that no, things could get very much worse.

And so a twelve year old boy, a little kid, with no parents, no education, no home, nothing of any significant value to offer to the world, a child stripped of his ability to move by himself, who already had felt small in comparison to the girl holding him prisoner, and now felt doubly humiliated because she was laughing at his predicament, hurting even more because he knew that he liked her, Skootchy began to cry.


	6. Taken

"_Oh, spirits." _Jinora whispered, frozen at the sight of Skootch crying. "_Oh spirits, what do I _do_?" _But she already had an idea. She dropped him, getting to her feet. The first thing he did was run, but that might have been a given. Watching him disappear past the trees, Jinora felt a horrible aching in her gut. Not even in her stomach, like whenever she felt bad, but in her _gut. _And Jinora hadn't even known that you could actually get feelings there.

"Sorry." Jinora whispered, not even bothering to propel her words to his ears. She knew he hadn't heard, and soon he was gone. Jinora stood looking at the direction he had run for some time, before hastily pulling herself together and remembering where she had been going. Silently, she turned and walked to the river, lost in her own thoughts.

When Ikki and Korra saw Jinora, neither of them noticed something was wrong immediately. They just thought she was being a little moody, an emotion that would pass soon. They didn't pick up that the feelings Jinora had weren't fleeting; they seemed infinite. And Jinora didn't even know why. Why? Why was she taking this so seriously? She didn't know him, and all of her other encounters with Skootch were horrible, for her, at least. So why did she care so much?

Well, he _had_ been crying. That was the worst part, she guessed. But also maybe that he didn't give her time to apologize, although she couldn't blame him for bolting immediately. She would've too. Either way, Jinora felt horrible.

"So! To the City Hall, eh?" Korra shouted from a distance, then ran to her. Jinora backed out of her thoughts and watched Korra warily, then tilted her head to watch Ikki following at a sprint. "Yeah." Jinora said, thanking the spirits that her voice was steady enough for that one syllable. Korra nodded, grinned, then turned to whistle for Naga, before remembering that they took the ferry here. (Naga was very friendly with children, but occasionally her patience was worn a little thin by Meelo and Ikki- she'll be better with some sleep, though). Korra shook her head and smiled, "Okay, so I guess we're walking." She said animatedly, then took Ikki's hand. She was going to grab Jinora's, but Jinora raised her eyebrow skeptically, and her hand retreated. Korra laughed at her and rolled her eyes.

"Hee_eeey!_" Ikki whined, "Why doesn't _she _have to get _her_ hand held?" Korra began to drag her along and said teasingly, "Well, _she_ won't run straight into the middle of a busy intersection because _she _saw a pretty stone in the road!" Ikki pouted, "I didn't do _that._"

"No, it was a residential street, but same idea." Jinora said dryly. She smiled when Ikki stuck her tongue out at her, and when she frowned at Korra's laughter. She soon forgot her hurt pride, however, when she caught sight of the road. "There are just so many people and things and events and colors and cars and stuff and _spirits_! Oh it is so amazingly wonderful super fantastic-ly _incredible_ in the city!" Ikki suddenly burst.

…

Jinora gazed silently up at the building. It was tall, yes. It was grand, yes. It was kind of formidable, yes. But for some reason, Jinora was unimpressed. "_It's just a building."_ She thought ruefully. But what else had she expected? City hall was the largest, most well-kept, magnificent piece of architecture in the whole of Republic City, save the statue of immortalized Aang in the harbor, but it was just a _building. _Jinora clenched her hands into a fist, then took a deep breath to relax herself. She was still dwelling over Skootch, although she barely even knew him. _"No."_ She thought. _"I won't let this ruin my day."_ It was quite a selfish thought, she knew- she had caused him a ton of grief (well, not a _ton_, but it certainly felt like a ton). And yet she found herself thinking it, "_Spirits, what an awful person I am."_ She began to think again.

_"You're not an awful person; you didn't know he was going to cry."_

_ "I should have! That was such a mean thing to do! Spirits, I bound his body to my will!"_

_ "You didn't know."_

_ "It's kind of like bloodbending."_

_ "You're being melodramatic."_

_ "But it's really _bad_!"_

And she went on like that for a while, chewing away at herself and then defending herself once more. She was switching sides in her head, arguing with herself, wondering about the morality of it all. Korra and Ikki had gone on a tour of the place- Ikki insisted- but Jinora refused at the last minute. She'd go look around by herself, she had told them. Read the plaques; find the pictures from her books. Of course, she hadn't really done any of that, but anything to give them peace of mind.

Jinora turned her head and rested her chin on her hand. She was sitting on the steps of the massive building, not really doing anything. She had stopped thinking about Skootch, changing her train of thought to circle around the fountain. What were those weird symbols on it? There must be some boring but satisfying answer to this puzzle. She pondered this for a bit, testing several hypothesis of it. She didn't notice the people walking around her; people were filing in and out of City Hall at a feverish pace, and no one in the world of high-class politics had any time to stop and wonder why a little girl was sitting alone on the steps. She didn't mind though, she couldn't be bothered about them, either.

So she was caught completely off guard when a pair of wiry arms wrapped around her and pulled her up.

Jinora turned around, startled, only to be hit hard across the face by someone clad in black. She was caught before she fell, and picked up. Thoroughly frightened now, she cried out for help. Her thin voice resonated of the cold marble of the stairway. "Help, help! Spirits, someone please-"A hand was over her mouth and another was clasped around her neck before she could get any farther. Frantically, Jinora tried to gain enough leverage to propel some winds, but before she could move, someone was pummeling her rapidly.

Starting at her thighs and ending at the bottom of her neck, Jinora knew what they were trying to do; put enough pressure on her pressure points so she wouldn't be able to bend. Jinora's screams were muffled and she couldn't hear anything through the blood rushing through her ears. Later on she would _think _someone had screamed, but she wouldn't be sure.

Jinora fought her best, but she was quickly tiring out. Inwardly, she cursed herself for not staying with her family, but slowly her thoughts were beginning to fade. She could see blackness creepin inwards from the corners of her vision, and willed them away. Her efforts were futile, though; one swift blow to her temple and she was out.

She wouldn't have heard anyone screaming her name.


	7. Skootchy's Thoughts

Skootchy lay on the ground, focusing intently on not moving. He was lounging around behind an abandoned shell of a house in the poorer area of the city, trying to kill some time before he went to the middle of town at closing hour, when people were trying to get home. He knew that people worked long days in the middle of the city, and they would be tired after; the only thought in their heads would be to make it home before they collapsed from exhaustion. And Skootchy knew they worked hard for their money, but the truth was that they were still better off with the money they got from working than he with his pickpocketing.

Perhaps he would be lucky today and would find some rich, aristocratic business people strutting through the crowd like they own all they see. Maybe they do. Maybe they'd be fat. Fat people never noticed when you plucked something off them.

Skootchy almost smiled at his train of thought, it was so poorly prioritized. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, thinking about the business people, thinking about the money he could get, not thinking of the girl, not thinking of how he cried, not thinking about it. He was not thinking about it.

Spirits! Skootchy sat up straight, exasperated. He hung his head in his hands and wondered why, out of all the people in the whole universe, why he constantly saw this one girl everywhere. Briefly, he reflected that he might be going crazy, but soon banished the thought. He couldn't be going crazy; other people went crazy, but not him. How could something like that happen to him? Resignedly, Skootchy got to his feet and walked to the edge of the yard. He jumped the fencing barring the backyard from the front, then walked to the front of the house. The child squinted towards the clocktower, the building that could be seen from all over the city to tell the residents the time and sighed when he learned that he still had three hours to go. Skootchy turned an eye to the run down, abandoned rubbish-heap of a building that he made his home in.

He wondered if he could open the door this time, before remembering that the door was cemented shut by eons of dried mud and fungus causing the wood of the door to melt into the wood of the frame. Skootchy shook his head and took a running start, jumped up and clutched the windowsill of a shattered window. He had to get his hands on just the right pane or he would cut himself on glass shards. He still hadn't forced himself to clean up the place. He let out a breath as he pulled himself up and opened the window, and clambered inside.

Skootchy crept across the floor, staying away from the weak spots where water had rotten the supports away. He had to get to the first floor, where things were a bit less hazardous. As always, he stood at the top of the staircase, wondering if he trusted the house enough to take them, before shaking his head and vaulting over the bannister. Skootchy landed lightly on his feet, stood and made his way to the dining room. It was not an ideal place to rest, but it was the cleanest, safest, and it had the window where daylight shone in the most.

Skootchy stood in the center of the room, knowing that he didn't really have anything of importance to do, and so sat down in the rectangular box of sunlight illuminating the room. He inclined his face towards the roof, so his neck and chest were din direct sunlight, but he was looking at the water stains on the ceiling. He chewed at his lip, trying hard not to think about her, but thinking about her anyway.

He went back to the second time they had met, when he had tossed a clod of dirt into the water.

She had looked so shocked, for a second. Mako too, but Skootchy didn't really take in Mako's facial expression. He had been too busy watching her face. She was so focused on the patterns on the side of the fountain; why did she care about it so much? Spirits, she was studying them like they held the key to the universe or something! Skootchy hadn't known what he was doing, he had just done it. Without a moment's notice the clod of dirt was out of his hand and the deed was already done.

He hadn't known why he did it; maybe he had just wanted to see what would happen? Skootchy sighed again and blew the air up at his bangs. Doing this reminded him of her wind, and he was consumed by his embarrassment again. Why had he started crying? God, Skootch, why did you cry? Now she thinks you're a crybaby _and_ a useless piece of street-trash. Skootchy reflected on that; he had never really crushed on anyone before.

He had _liked_ girls before, sure, but he had never really cared enough to do anything about it, and now all of a sudden this airbending girl struts along and he finds himself doing things without even thinking about it? This was stupid, it was stupid and dumb and childish and annoying and dangerous. What if her father found out? What if he hunts Skootchy down? What then? Skootch had heard what happens to people down in the jails, he had listened to the men talk about people that were lost to the police force, about rogues and thieves like him and how terrible, awful things happen in the prison cells below Republic City.

Skootchy clutched his sides and lay down, staring at nothing. No, he decided, it was bad to like people like her, let alone like people in general. He allowed himself to think about, fine, but no more tears. And certainly nothing else to do with her, either.

…

Skootchy sat on the stoops of a small bar. It was early in the evening, but people were already partying, or still partying, in some cases. The building was dimly lit, as bars tend to go, so nobody noticed how raggedy the boy looked. This benefitted Skootchy greatly, as he was free to scrutinize the crowd without fear of anyone chasing him away.

He was just about to leap into the thrush of bodies after a particularly weary looking man when he caught a glimpse of red out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head for a second, before diverting his attention back to the man. Spirits! He had lost him. Skootchy sat there, feeling a bit like a lion-vulture that had just lost its prey. He turned his head again towards the offending object, eyes widening for a moment when he realized what- or who- it was.

Several buildings away, sitting in the middle of the staircase leading up to city hall, was the girl he…liked. Skootchy blinked repeatedly and bit his lip in a mixture of nervousness, fear, and agitation. Oh why did she have to be _here_, and of all times, _now?_ He shook his head to clear the panic-ridden thoughts.

No, he could just find somewhere else to pickpocket. Skootchy didn't need to stay. The stations would be open around town; people would be boarding busses and trains all sorts of things now, in order to get home. Yeah, he could just thieve people over there.

Stootchy stood up, nodding to the bouncer (he didn't nod back) and turned to leave when he heard someone scream. When he turned his head, the sight of several chi-blockers surrounding and entrapping her made his blood run cold.


	8. Caught and Followed

"No!" The hoarse cry ripped from his throat, "NO!" He screamed and ran towards them. Skootchy didn't stop to think, he didn't even wonder why he was doing it, he was just running as fast as he could. "Stop!" He cried as she fainted, "Stop it, please!" He whimpered as she was tossed inside the auto. He didn't hesitate to lunge for the van as it pulled away, but of course he was left empty-handed.

"No." Skootchy whispered, and looked frantically around him. People had stopped, some eyed him warily, but none moved to help. Some glanced at the mobile, receding in the distance, and others shook their heads and continued. None stopped to help him, and he didn't expect them to.

He sat on the ground for a moment, thinking, panicking, worrying, before he got up and made to leave. With one last glance over his shoulder, he turned and ran to the only place he knew of that could help; downtown.

…

Skootchy waited inside the bar for hours, lounging about in the back with the other pariahs. Several were smoking, one was passed out, and two others were biting at each other's lips like it was the last time they'd ever meet. Everything stank of booze and smoke; it was all Skootchy could do not to retch. Finally he found what- or whom- he was looking for. Two thugs, obviously non-benders; they grinned wickedly at the firebender lighting his cigarette with his finger and shoved a drunken earthbender off his stool as they sat down. Skootchy crept up behind them, doing his best to seem inconspicuous, although that plan failed miserably.

"You. C'mere." He heard the thug speak before he could back away. Skootchy looked behind him, briefly hoping that it was not he that the two were looking at. "Yes. You, boy." The one on the right said. He had a burn mark popping up just a little under his collar, not that Skootchy was looking. Skootchy lowered his eyes almost respectfully and took a few steps closer. "Y-yeah?" He asked, trying not to seem scared. "Get us two." Was the gruff reply, and they turned their backs on him. Skootchy breathed a sigh of relief; they thought he was a serving boy. Silently, he walked away, knowing that he had to do what they said, just for once, and maybe they'd let him stand next to them. Maybe he'd hear them talk.

Skootchy silently gave them their drink and stood off to the side. The two men did not acknowledge the child, and continued talking, only pausing to call for more drink. Before long, they were completely wasted, becoming more and more rowdy with every sip.

"Did you hear that girl today though?" Said one of the men, as the other laughed. Skootchy glanced over, making sure to keep his eyes down.

"Which one? There were plenty." Skootchy clenched his fists as they laughed together.

"The little one, the one with the red cape."

"Oh yeah! She was pretty, wasn't she?"

"If that's what you like, Tomman." The one with the scar said dryly, and the other, Tomman, winked.

Skootchy blushed.

"But anyways, yeah? What about her?"

"Oh, did you hear her cry out?"

"Yea! She fought like a demon, with a screech like one too!" They laughed again. Skootchy was beginning to hate the sound of their grainy voices.

"Spirits! She _was _pretty too! I wonder if they'll let her go later."

"Well, I don't think they'd kill her."

"Think I'd have a chance?"

"If you ask really nicely, maybe."

"Or I could just take her."

"Sure, the bunker's kind of small. I guess. We could do it."

Skootchy filled their cups again, blinking away tears. No, he couldn't cry, not this time, it's_ important_.

"But it's, like, outside the city…"

"So?"

"How many guards do you think there are?"

"Weren't many when I delivered her."

"Hm."

"Let's go." Tommen suggested bluntly. "Let's go. We can go back. We can do it now." As if to demonstrate his words, he stood up, staggering. "We could go right now!" He said excitedly to scar-neck, then turned and stumbled out of the bar. His companion watched him go, then sighed and looked at Skootchy. They did not make eye contact, but eventually the man tossed down some yuans and followed, considerably more gracefully.

Skootchy picked the yuans up hurriedly and scrambled after them. No one noticed the boy leaving, and the drunken men he was following were none the wiser.

…

Jinora had been in the cell for hours. She was tired, alone, and _scared._ But she didn't cry; she would not allow herself to cry. Korra wouldn't have cried, she rationalized, and neither would have Father, or Mother, or Auntie Lin. Definitely not Auntie Lin. Jinora dwelled on her family's friend for a moment or two, wondering what exactly Auntie Lin would do.

_She would break out somehow._ Jinora finally decided. _She would find a way to get the door open and blow the place apart somehow. But then again, Auntie Lin probably wouldn't have gotten herself trapped here in the first place. _Jinora groaned and rolled over on the floor. Her stomach hurt, and she was aching everywhere. She lay there for a second or two, before realizing this position was not much less painful than the first. Suddenly, Jinora was gripped by a sense of righteousness.

She shouldn't be lying there like a tortured little girl. She shouldn't be crying and whimpering and moaning because she got a little hurt. Wincing, Jinora sat up, and crossed her legs so she was sitting in a meditation stance. As the daughter of Tenzin of the City Council, Airbender Representative, as one of only five living Airbenders in the world, as the granddaughter of the last Avatar, Aang, she would not act like this. Perhaps she could not change her situation and perhaps she could not change how bleak it seemed, but by Kyoshi, she could change the way she responded to it.

Jinora closed her eyes, regulated her breathing, focused on her pulse and heart rates, and meditated.

…

Skootchy followed behind the two men for a long time, taking paths down and out of the main boroughs and into the lesser populated slums. Several times he had paused to wonder why he was doing this, twice he turned back to go home. But one thought always made him pad back to the rowdy, drunken men; "_You don't really have a home. But she does."_


End file.
